Improvement in life-boats



' UNITED; STATES PATENT ALrHEUs QsTnRLINe AND ABRAM T. sTEnLING, or PORTLAND, MAINE.

IM PROVEMENT IN L'lFvE-BATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,891, dated April Q1, 1874; application filed February 13, 1874. v

To all 'whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, ALPHEUS G. STERi LING and ABRAM T. STERLING, both of Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Boats5 and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, that will enable others skilled in the art tov which it appertains to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon which form a part of this specification.

Figure l is-a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a side View. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section.

Same letters show like parts. Y

The purpose of our invention is to produce a life-boat of improved construction having the following essential features: First, the boat is provided with a deck, watertight, the hold or lower portion below the deck being left open to the admission of a certain quanti ty of water by means of apertures to be here inafter described 5 second, within the space-belew the deck and bottom of the boat isplaced an air-reservoir, (shown in Fig. 1,) conforming in shape to the boat and the formation of the deck, the latter being also illustrated in Fig. l 5

third, the apertures themselves, arranged as' shown in Figs. l and 3; fourth, an air-receptacle running around the boat on the outside near the top of the guuwales. v

A shows the air-reservoir within the boat, conforming in shape to the decks'O, D,1and E, and to the shape of the boat. As illustrated, the top of the air-reservoir A is placed a short distance below the bottom sides of the decks, and so as to leave an air-space between the reservoir and the bottom sides of the decks. F shows apertures on either side of the keel on the boats bottom at the center. G and H show other apertures through the bottom and near each end of the boat.

When placed in the water, the water entering these apertures rises to a certain extent within the hollow or hold of the boat and around the air-reservoir A. This serves for what we call a water-ballast77 to the boat. There remains between the top of the water within the boat and the bottom side of the decks a sheet or layer, so to speak, of air, which, in addition to the reservoir A, imparts buoyancy to the craft. l

The location of the apertures G and H is for the purpose of speedily draining lthe hollow of the boat when it is taken out of the water. When inclined or tipped either way the water has free exit from one of these two sets of apertures, when from the position of the boat it might not all be able to escape at the center apertures.

With this arrangement of the air-reservoir A and with the admission of the water into the hold of the boat below the deck, the boat is made exceedingly difficult to capsize, buoyant upon the water, and quite secure against those accidents which, by breaking the boat, render it likely to sink.

The air-receptacle I may be so constructed as to serve as a protection in case of striking against other objects. It may be made of rubber or 'other material properly protected or incased.

' XVe do not claim, broadly, a water-ballast to a life-boat, however arranged.

VThe especial purpose of our arrangement of the water-apertures and the air-reservoir,

is in order that the craft has a constant tendency to resist capsizing, and that the struc# turel may be such as highly calculated to resist blows, fractures, Snc.

The manner in which the reservoir- A is held in proper position in the center of the space in the boat is illustrated in Fig. 3.

This reservoir is prevented from moving lat erally by the timbers M ofthe boat, it being of sufficient width to extend across the space between these timbers.

Through the center of the reservoir, as shown in Fig. 3, pass air-tight tubes K, at proper distances along the entire length of the reservoir. Down through the deck of the boat, the center-beam J, and these tubes K,

pass the screw or other bolts L, and extend structed and arranged substantially in the' intov the keel VN of the boat. The reservoir, manner and for the purposes herein setforth. being thus fastened, is held securely in posi- In testimony that We claim the foregoing We tion; have hereunto set our hands this 6th day of What We claim as our invention, and desire February, 1874.

to secure by Letters Patent, is- ALPHEUS G. STERLING. The life-boat herein described, provided ABRAM T. STERLING.

with the interior air-tight reservoir A, as the Witnesses:

same relative oonguration of the boat, and WM. HENRY CLIFFORD,

the apertures F G H, the Whole being eon- FRANK H. JORDAN. 

